Moot Court & Mock Trial

Our Moot Court and Mock Trial programs simulate real-life cases, giving students the skills they need to be lawyers. We compete nationally and internationally and have a long-standing track record of success.

Appellate Practice/Dean Dunmore Moot Court Program

Students interested in competing on moot court teams on issues involving constitutional law and civil rights begin by taking the Appellate Practice course. This year-long course includes intensive brief-writing instruction in the first semester. In the second semester, students engage in practice oral arguments and then compete in the student-run Dunmore Moot Court.

"If you want a real life litigation challenge to develop, test, and refine your own courtroom skills, find time to participate in this program. The level of talent in this competition often exceeds what judges see day in and day out in the courtrooms."

Dennis G. Terez, Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Ohio

To showcase our talent, seeded rounds of the intramural Dunmore competition are judged by distinguished senior practitioners from the Cleveland bar. The finals are before a three-judge panel of federal district, circuit court and state court judges.

At the end of the second semester all students from the course are eligible to try out to represent Case Western in national competitions. Second semester is also when students apply and interview for the Moot Court Board, which sponsors the national topic intermural moot court competition teams and runs the Dean Dunmore competition.

The winner of the 2013-2014 Dunmore competition was Joseph Czerwein, and the runner-up was Kathryn Geisinger. The final round was heard by Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, Judge Melody J. Stewart of the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eighth District, and former Judge Mary Jane Trapp of the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eleventh District.

National Moot Court Competitions

The constitutional and civil rights competitions entered by the school vary yearly based upon student interest and scheduling. Recent years have seen tremendous performance by the teams.

Craven Constitutional Moot Court Team

In 2014, this team won the Scribes Award, given to the best brief, out of all the nation's moot court competitions. Alyssa Dechow, Del Guile, and Garret Bowman won for their brief from the J. Braxton Craven, Jr. Memorial Moot-Court Competition. (Pictured are Dechow and Guile) The team is coached by Professor Maureen Kenny.

The National Moot Court Team

Our two National Moot Court Teams had a successful regional competition, held in November 2013 in Columbus, Ohio. Both of our teams advanced to the final round, where they competed against each other. The team of Michael Gabrail, Rachel Smoot, and Carina Yaghsezian prevailed over the team of Samantha Chassin, Diana Feitl, and Rachel Brainard. Michael Gabrail received the award for Best Oralist.

Although both teams made the regional final and normally both teams in the regional finals advance to the national final in New York, the rules of the National Moot Court Competition do not allow two teams from the same school to advance. As a result, only the Gabrail-Smoot-Yaghsezian team went to New York in February 2014 to compete in the Finals where they lost after the preliminary rounds. Both teams were coached by Professor Kathryn Mercer.

The American Bar Association Moot Court Team

The law school sent two teams to the ABA regional competition held in Las Vegas, Nevada. ABA Moot Court Team A - Jennifer Doll, Zenab Chowdhry, and Yelena Grinberg - received an award for 4th Best Brief, and was ranked 4th after the preliminary rounds of competition. Coached by Professor Kathryn Mercer, they advanced to the quarterfinals, losing in a close round to the winner of the regional competition. Team B, with students Bryan Szalewski, Bethany Thomas and Sarah Gatti, was coached by Professor Andrew Pollis.

For more information about the Appellate Practice course or moot court program, contact Professor Jonathan Entin by email or phone at 216-368-6362.

"Participating in moot court is one of my fondest law school memories, particularly competing at the UNC competition. Though we faced tough opponents from other top national law schools, our diligent preparation and valuable guidance from our faculty allowed us to really enjoy the experience and have a great deal of success. To top it off, we earned the chance to argue before four federal appellate judges in the championship round – a challenging and rewarding opportunity none of us will ever forget. It was an honor to represent the law school and make a small contribution to our superb national moot court reputation."

Jeff Bieszczak ‘13

International Moot Court Competitions

Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court

Organized by the International Law Students Association, the Jessup Competition is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious moot court tournaments, with over 600 schools competing from 100 countries from around the world. The competition involves a mock appellate argument before the International Court of Justice. Traditionally, our law school has one of the best Jessup teams in the country - having won the U.S. Regional Competition six out of the past nine years, the World Championship in 2008 and the Best Brief in the World Award in 2011.

In 2014, our Jessup International Law Moot Court team made it to the quarterfinals of the National Rounds of the Competition in Chicago. Team members Elizabeth Horan '14, Joshuah Lisk '14, Kennan Castel-Fodor '14, Hilary Henry '14, and Betsy Krupar '15 were coached by Interim Dean Michael Scharf and Conor McLaughlin '07. Kennan Castel-Fodor won the award for 3rd best speaker in the competition, and Hilarie Henry won the award for 8th best speaker.

International Criminal Court Mock Trial Competition

Organized by the International Criminal Law Network, the ICC Competition features 50 schools from 40 countries, arguing a mock appellate argument before the International Criminal Court. Each team member writes a 20-page brief due in January, representing the ICC Prosecutor, the Defendant, and the Government of the State where the Defendant is located. Each team member argues at least one preliminary round at the Americas' Competition held in New York in March. There are three semi-finals, and the three teams that make it to the finals go on to the International Rounds in The Hague in April, with a final round held at the real ICC. Professors Cassandra Robertson and Michael Benza coach this team.

Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot

The Vis Team, advised by Professor Timothy Webster, deals with international commercial disputes, usually regarding a breach of contract. The team travels to Hong Kong each year for a weeklong competition with some of the world's strongest moot programs. Students argue in a quasi-judicial setting featuring three arbitrators and two teams representing the Claimant and Respondent, respectively. Students consult substantive law, such as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), academic treatises and the arbitration rules of the forum to craft arguments and advocate for their client. Many of the world's leading arbitration law firms and arbitral institutions sponsor the Vis Moot, and many of the volunteer arbitrators are themselves past participants or advanced practitioners.

Ault Mock Trial Team

The Ault Mock Trial Team is an intensive academic and skill based program designed to prepare students for trial practice. Students learn to develop trial strategies, examine witnesses, present arguments to juries and judges, use and understand the rules of evidence and procedure while becoming familiar with being in a courtroom. The program is focused on providing students with practical exposure to trial tactics while emphasizing the academic areas of evidence and procedure. It focuses on both the art and science of trial work.

The team represents the law school at national and regional trial competitions, including the Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition, the American Association for Justice National Competition and the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County Mock Trial Competition. The team also hosts an annual competition with schools from Ohio and Kentucky.

The program is open to all second- and third-year students and membership on the team is gained through an open, school wide competition. Students who participate for one or two years receive academic credit.

Our International presence is growing. We have semester abroad programs with foreign law schools on five continents, and concurrent JD/LLM degree programs with universities in London, Paris, and Madrid.